Laser Device for Dentistry

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a laser device for dentistry, and more particularly to a laser device for dentistry that may improve curing effect, may increase practicality, and can be used conveniently.

2. Description of Related Art

Photopolymer, commonly known as light-activated resin, refers to the polymer that can change the properties of the polymer after exposure to light. The light used to excite the polymer can be in the wavelength range from visible light to ultraviolet light, and it has been applied in many fields, such as adding photopolymers to enamels, which can quickly cure enamels after light exposure, and can also be used in medicine and printing. Photopolymers of different materials need to be used with light sources of corresponding wavelengths.

At present, when treating dental caries clinically, the defected part of the dental caries will be treated by filling materials, and the filling materials include silver powder, composite resin or ceramic material. Silver powder has aesthetic problems due to its color, and users may be concerned about the contamination of mercury. Therefore, currently, silver powder is not used as a filling material for teeth in the industry. Ceramic materials have the advantages of high physical strength and good adhesion, but the price is relatively high and would be a burden to patients or consumers. In view of the concerns or problems derived from the aforementioned silver powder and ceramic materials, composite resins are mostly used as the tooth filling materials at present.

The conventional composite resin used for tooth filling includes a photoinitiator/photocuring agent. After the conventional composite resin is matched with a light source of a specific wavelength, a photopolymerization reaction is generated to cause the conventional composite resin to produce a curing reaction, thereby filled or sealed at the defected part of the tooth. The light sources include halogen lamp, xenon lamp, and light-emitting diode (LED) lamp. The halogen lamp needs to be equipped with a filter to generate the light source (blue light) required for photocuring, is easy to cause high temperature during use and needs to be equipped with a cooling fan, and has problems such as short service life. Although the xenon lamp can provide higher brightness than that of the halogen lamp, the structure of the xenon lamp is complicated and the price of the xenon lamp is high. The LED lamp has the advantages of low voltage, low cost, and long life. Therefore, most of the conventional photopolymerization devices used in dentistry use the LED lamps as light sources.

Furthermore, although the conventional photopolymerization devices for dentistry can use an LED lamp to perform a photocuring reaction on the composite resin, the light-emitting diode is not provided with a resonant cavity, so that the light emitted by the LED lamp 60 has a large divergence angle as shown in FIG. 28 . That is, the light of the LED lamp 60 will emit with a wide range of illumination on an object, which makes the energy of the LED lamp 60 unable to concentrate, and cannot be precisely irradiated at a position of the tooth 70 that is filled with the composite resin 80 . Therefore, with reference to FIG. 29 , during the operation of the light-curing reaction through the LED lamp 60 , the tooth 70 filled with the composite resin 80 is irradiated, the energy of the light emitted by the LED lamp 60 is low, the entire composite resin 80 cannot be irradiated for photocuring reaction, and only the composite resin 80 located on the outside of the tooth 70 can be photocured. Therefore, when the LED lamp 60 is used as a light source, the penetration is poor during the process of filling the composite resin 80 , so only a small amount of filling and multiple irradiations can be performed, which is relatively time-consuming and inconvenient. In addition, the way of filling and irradiating multiple times will also affect the curing effect of the composite resin 80 , thereby affecting the treatment effect of the tooth 70 .

Additionally, there are many kinds of composite resins 80 currently used as dental filling materials, including TPO (2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl-diphenylosphine oxide), BAPO (Bisacylphosphine oxide), BP (Benzophenone), CQ (Camphorquinone), PQ (9,10-Phenanthrenequinone), PPD (1-pheneyl-1,2propanedione), TMBOPF (9-(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)-9-oxytho-9-phosphafuluorene), TOPF (9-(p-toluyl)-9-oxytho-9-phosphafuluorene), BTMGe (Benzoyltrimethylgermane), DBDEGe (Dibenzoyldiethylgermane), IVO (Ivocerin-dibenzoyl germanium) and P3C-SB ((7-ethoxy-4-methylcumarin-3-yl) phenyliodo-nium) and other photo-initiator chemical materials, and the above-mentioned chemical materials absorb light in different wavelength ranges. Therefore, users often need to select or purchase a dental photopolymerization device with a wavelength corresponding to the chemical material, so that the composite resin 80 can be photopolymerized after irradiation. When the composite resin 80 does not correspond to the light source, the composite resin 80 cannot be cured or the curing is incomplete, thereby affecting the treatment effect of the teeth 70 . According to different composite resins 80 , the user may purchase or use a corresponding light source, that is, multiple photopolymerization devices need to be purchased, and this will cause cost and burden to users. Therefore, the conventional photopolymerization devices need to be improved.

Furthermore, there is currently a dental equipment using a diode laser (Dental Diode Laser) used in dentistry, which can be used for cutting gums, cauterizing hemostasis, periodontal disease treatment or cleaning artificial roots. Optical fiber is mainly used as a working medium, and the laser is output through the optical fiber. However, when the conventional dental equipment of the diode laser is used, the optical fiber is directly contacted with the treatment place, such as the gum or artificial root. The cost of consumables is increased due to use of the contacting optical fibers, and when the tissue around the artificial root is treated by the optical fibers, it is easy to scratch the surface of the artificial root. The scratched artificial root is not conducive to the attachment of new bone, and it will affect the stability of the artificial tooth root placed on the gum. Furthermore, moisture, heme, and hydroxyapatite (one of the main components of bone) have a high absorption rate for the laser light with a wavelength of 2980 nanometers, which will lead to burn and destroy the surrounding medium that stabilizes the artificial root, and this is not conducive to the setting of the artificial root. In addition, the optical fiber is used as the working medium of the laser light, so that the laser light will be emitted in a divergent type and cannot be focused, resulting in low energy. However, its performance and practicability are limited. Therefore, the conventional dental equipment used by diode lasers also needs to be improved.

To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a laser device for dentistry to mitigate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the invention is to provide a laser device for dentistry that may improve curing effect, may increase practicality, and can be used conveniently.

A laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention has a body, a light source group, and a light guiding pipe. The body has an outer casing, an operating module, and a controlling module. The light source group is disposed in the body and has multiple light-emitting elements, a reflector, a collimating lens, and a focusing lens. Each light-emitting element is a laser diode, is disposed at a connecting portion of the body and is electrically connected to the controlling module. The reflector is mounted around the light-emitting elements. The collimating lens is disposed on a side of the reflector away from the light-emitting elements. The focusing lens is disposed on a side of the collimating lens away from the reflector. The light guiding pipe is detachably connected to the connecting portion of the body and is located on a front side of the light source group.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view in partial section of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged exploded side view of a light source group of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of a light guiding pipe of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 8 is a circuit block diagram of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 9 is an operational perspective view of the light source group of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 10 is an operational side view of the light source group of the laser device in FIG. 4 for dentistry for curing materials in a tooth;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a holding group of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 12 is another perspective view of the holding group of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the holding group of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged and exploded perspective view of the holding group of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged side view in partial section of a third embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged side view in partial section of a fourth embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 17 is an operational side view of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 16 ;

FIG. 18 is another operational side view of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 16 ;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 20 is an enlarged perspective view of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 19 ;

FIG. 21 is an operational side view of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 19 ;

FIG. 22 is an operational perspective view of a sixth embodiment of a light source group of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a top side view of the light source group of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 22 ;

FIG. 24 is an enlarged side view in partial section of a seventh embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 25 is an operational side view of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 24 ;

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a clamping mount of the light source group of the laser device for dentistry in FIGS. 24 and 25 ;

FIG. 27 is an operational side view of the laser device for dentistry in FIG. 25 for cleaning and treating an artificial root;

FIG. 28 is an operational perspective view of a light-emitting diode lamp in accordance with the prior art; and

FIG. 29 is an operational side view of the light-emitting diode lamp for curing materials in a tooth.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 , a first embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention comprises a body 10 A and a light source group 20 A.

The body 10 A has an outer casing 11 A, an operating module 12 A, and a controlling module 13 A. The outer casing 11 A can be held by a user and has a free end and a connecting portion 15 A. The connecting portion 15 A is disposed on the free end of the outer casing 11 A. The operating module 12 A is disposed on the outer casing 11 A and has a control button 121 A. With reference to FIG. 3 , the controlling module 13 A is disposed in the outer casing 11 A and is electrically connected to the operating module 12 A. Then the operating module 12 A can control the light source group 20 A via the controlling module 13 A. The detailed structures and operating principles of the operating module 12 A and the controlling module 13 A are conventional and are not to be described in detail.

The light source group 20 A is disposed in the body 10 A and has at least one light-emitting element 21 A and a collimating lens 23 A. Each one of the at least one light-emitting element 21 A is disposed in the outer casing 11 A, is electrically connected to the controlling module 13 A, and can be a laser diode (LD). Laser diode (LD) has the advantages of small divergence angle, light source concentration (high optical density), small distance attenuation, and coherence. Preferably, the at least one light-emitting element 21 A may be an edge emitting laser diode (EELD) or a surface emitting laser diode (SELD). In addition, in the present invention, the light-emitting element 21 A may be a stack laser diode, and the stack laser diode has effects of single with multi-wavelength or single with single wavelength to increase the intensity. Furthermore, the at least one light-emitting element 21 A can also select a corresponding multi-wavelength light source with the development of technology. Preferably, the light source used in the present invention can also use a laser with a corresponding wavelength as the light source along with the development of dental polymer materials. The collimating lens 23 A is disposed at the connecting portion 15 A of the outer casing 11 A, and is used to form a parallel light or focus the light emitted by the at least one light-emitting element 21 A at a specific focus.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 , in the first embodiment of the laser device for dentistry of the present invention, since the at least one light-emitting element 21 A is a laser diode, it has physical characteristics such as small divergence angle, concentrated light source (high optical density), and small distance attenuation, so it can be applied to jewelry identification (whether there are cracks or other fillers), medical treatment equipment disinfection, nail painting (cured pigment) and other fields. Multiple sets of the laser devices for dentistry can be used with a box, a space for disinfection is formed in the box, and then it can be used in kitchen tableware or disinfection and sterilization of surgical equipment. In addition, the body 10 A is portable due to its small size, and can be used by users as hand disinfection, so that the laser device for dentistry of the present invention has a wide range of applications.

With reference to FIGS. 4 to 8 , in a second embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with present invention, the laser device for dentistry has a body 10 B, a light source group 20 B, and a light guiding pipe 30 B.

The body 10 B has an outer casing 11 B, an operating module 12 B, a controlling module 13 B, and a shading plate 14 B. The outer casing 11 B can be held by a user and has a free end and a connecting portion 15 B. The connecting portion 15 B is disposed on the free end of the outer casing 11 B and has a concave mirror 151 B formed in the connecting portion 15 B. Preferably, the outer casing 11 B is formed by two half shells connected to each other. The operating module 12 B is disposed on the outer casing 11 B and has multiple control buttons 121 B and a display 122 B. The control buttons 121 B and the display 122 B are disposed on the outer casing 11 B. The controlling module 13 B is disposed in the outer casing 11 B and is electrically connected to the operating module 12 B, and the operating module 12 B can control the light source group 20 B via the controlling module 13 B. The detailed structures and operating principles of the operating module 12 B and the controlling module 13 B are conventional and are not to be described in detail. The shading plate 14 B is disposed on the connecting portion 15 B of the outer casing 11 B to provide an effect of shielding the light source, preventing the light of the light source group 20 B from damaging the user's eyes.

With reference to FIGS. 5 , 6 , and 8 , the light source group 20 B is disposed in the body 10 B and has multiple light-emitting elements 21 B, a reflector 22 B, a collimating lens 23 B, and a focusing lens 24 B. Each light-emitting element 21 B is disposed at the connecting portion 15 B of the outer casing 11 B and is electrically connected to the controlling module 13 B. The concave mirror 151 B of the connecting portion 15 B is disposed behind the multiple light-emitting elements 21 B. Furthermore, each light-emitting element 21 B is a laser diode (LD), and the laser diode has the advantages of small divergence angle, light source concentration (high optical density), small distance attenuation, and coherence. Preferably, each light-emitting element 21 B may be an edge emitting laser diode (EELD) or a surface emitting laser diode (SELD). In addition, in the present invention, the light-emitting element 21 B may be a stack laser diode, and the stack laser diode has effects of single with multi-wavelength or single with single wavelength to increase the intensity. Furthermore, the light-emitting element 21 B of the present invention can also select a corresponding multi-wavelength light source with the development of technology. Preferably, with reference to FIG. 5 , the light source group 20 B has three laser diodes disposed on the connecting portion 15 B at spaced intervals, the wavelengths of the three laser diodes are 405 nanometers (nm), 455 nm, and 488 nm, respectively. The operating module 12 B of the body 10 B can control the three laser diodes via the controlling module 13 B to make the three laser diodes emit light simultaneously or individually or control two of them. Preferably, the light source used in the present invention can also use a laser with a corresponding wavelength as the light source along with the development of dental polymer materials. The light-emitting elements 21 B of the light source group 20 B of the laser device are three laser diodes with three primary colors, respectively. The light source group 20 B can respectively generate light of three primary colors (red, green, and blue; RGB) after being activated, and the laser device emits white light or mixes laser light with other wavelengths.

With reference to FIG. 6 , the reflector 22 B is disposed on the connecting portion 15 B of the outer casing 11 B, covers the multiple light-emitting elements 21 B and has a reflecting surface 221 B tapered outward from the multiple light-emitting elements 21 B. Preferably, each of the reflector 22 B and the concave mirror 151 B is a total reflection mirror. The light sources emitted by the multiple light-emitting elements 21 B are reflected by the reflecting surface 221 B and the concave mirror 151 B and then exit the reflector 22 B. The collimating lens 23 B is disposed on a side of the reflector 22 B away from the multiple light-emitting elements 21 B to form a parallel beam or focus the light beam reflected by the reflector 22 B at a specific focus. The focusing lens 24 B is disposed on a side of the collimating lens 23 B away from the reflector 22 B to focus the parallel beam formed by the collimating lens 23 into a single spot as shown in FIG. 9 .

With reference to FIG. 7 , the light guiding pipe 30 B is detachably connected to the connecting portion 15 B of the body 10 B and is located on a front side of the light source group 20 B for guiding the light of the light source group 20 B out of the laser device for dentistry. The light guiding pipe 30 B has a reflecting mirror 31 B disposed in the light guiding pipe 30 B, the reflecting mirror 31 B is used to change the single light spot formed by the light source group 20 B, so that it can be emitted out of the laser device for dentistry via the light guiding pipe 30 B. Furthermore, the light guiding pipe 30 B can also be an optical fiber pipe without disposing the reflecting mirror 31 B.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 8 , when the laser device for dentistry of the present invention is in use, a user presses one of the control buttons 121 B of the operating module 12 B, the light-emitting elements 21 B of the light source group 20 B are driven to emit lights via the controlling module 13 B as shown in FIG. 9 . The light-emitting elements 21 B can emit lights at the same time or individually by pressing the control buttons 121 B. After the light-emitting elements 21 B emit lights, the lights are reflected by the reflector 22 B and the concave mirror 151 B as shown in FIG. 6 and emitted to the collimating lens 23 B to form a parallel beam, and the parallel beam is focused by the focusing lens 24 B to form a single light spot. With reference to FIG. 7 , the single light spot is emitted toward the reflecting mirror 31 B of the light guiding pipe 30 B, and after being reflected by the reflecting mirror 31 B, the single light spot is emitted out of the laser device for dentistry. The concave mirror 151 B can reflect part of the lights reflected back to the connecting portion 15 B by the reflector 22 B to the reflector 22 B again and then exit the collimating lens 23 B. With reference to FIG. 10 , the single light spot is irradiated on a composite resin 80 filled in a tooth 70 , since the light emitted by the light source group 20 B has high penetrability, collimation, and coherence and the light can irradiate into the composite resin 80 filled in the tooth 70 . Then photopolymerization is performed on the entire composite resin 80 , so that the entire composite resin 80 can be photocured, which is relatively convenient in operation, saves time, and can improve the tightness of tooth filling. Furthermore, with reference to FIG. 5 , in the second embodiment of the laser device for dentistry of the present invention, there are three light-emitting elements 21 B with three different wavelengths disposed on the connecting portion 15 B of the body 10 B. When the composite resin 80 of different chemical materials is used, the light sources of corresponding wavelengths can be provided by the light-emitting elements 21 B of different wavelengths. Then the composite resin 80 of different chemical materials can be photocured through a single laser device for dentistry, and there is no need to purchase additional laser devices for dentistry, which can greatly reduce the cost for use. The application range of the laser device for dentistry can be increased, and the composite resin 80 of different chemical materials can be accurately cured by light, which can effectively avoid the phenomenon of inability to cure or incomplete curing, and relatively improve the treatment quality of tooth filling. The present invention can provide a laser device for dentistry with improved curing effect and increased practicality and is convenient in use.

With reference to FIGS. 11 to 14 , the laser device for dentistry of the second embodiment of the present invention further has a holding group 40 B. The holding group 40 B is disposed in the light guiding pipe 30 B for holding the reflecting mirror 31 B securely in the light guiding pipe 30 B. The holding group 40 B has a fixing panel 41 B, a supporting arm 42 B, and a supporting frame 43 B. The fixing panel 41 B is securely connected to the connecting portion 15 B of the outer casing 11 B, has a cross section corresponding to a cross section of the connecting portion 15 B, and may be circular or square in shape. The fixing panel 41 B has multiple through holes 411 B formed therethrough and corresponding to the multiple light-emitting elements 21 B of the light source group 20 B. Then the light of the light-emitting elements 21 B can be emitted toward the reflector 22 B through the corresponding through holes 411 B. An end of the supporting arm 42 B is connected to the fixing panel 41 B and extends along the light guiding pipe 30 B. In addition, the supporting arm 42 B has a connecting segment 421 B formed on an end thereof opposite to the fixing panel 41 B.

The supporting frame 43 B is connected to the connecting segment 421 B of the supporting arm 42 B and is disposed in the light guiding pipe 30 B, and the supporting frame 43 B and the fixing panel 41 B are respectively disposed on two ends of the supporting arm 42 B. The supporting frame 43 B has two holding tabs 431 B and a linking tab 432 B. The two holding tabs 431 B are respectively disposed on two sides of the supporting frame 43 B at a spaced interval. The linking tab 432 B is disposed on a middle of the supporting frame 43 B between the two holding tabs 431 B to form a holding space between the two holding tabs 431 B and the linking tab 432 B. The connecting segment 421 B of the supporting arm 42 B is connected to the linking tab 432 B of the supporting frame 43 B. The reflecting mirror 31 B is mounted in the holding space of the supporting frame 43 B. Furthermore, the holding group 40 B has a fastener 44 B connected to the linking tab 432 B and the connecting segment 421 B and abuts against the reflecting mirror 31 B to securely hold the reflecting mirror 31 B on the supporting frame 43 B. The reflecting mirror 31 B can be disposed in the light guiding pipe 30 B conveniently and quickly by disposing the holding group 40 B in the light guiding pipe 30 B to reflect the light emitted by the light source group 20 B out of the laser device for dentistry.

With reference to FIG. 15 , a third embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention is substantially the same as the second embodiment as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 except for the following features. In the third embodiment of the present invention, the light source group 20 C has multiple light-emitting elements 21 C, multiple collimating lenses 23 C, multiple focusing lenses 24 C, and a protective mirror 25 C. Each one of the light-emitting elements 21 C is disposed in the outer casing 11 C, is a laser diode, and the wavelengths of the light-emitting elements 21 C can be the same or different. Each one of the collimating lenses 23 C is disposed in the outer casing 11 C and aligns with one of the light-emitting elements 21 C. Each one of the focusing lenses 24 C is disposed on a side of one of the collimating lenses 23 C away from the corresponding light-emitting element 21 C. The protective mirror 25 C is disposed on the outer casing 11 C and is disposed on a side of each one of the focusing lenses 24 C away from the light-emitting elements 21 C. Furthermore, the laser device for dentistry has multiple light guiding pipes 30 C, each one of the light guiding pipes 30 C is disposed in the outer casing 11 C between one of the collimating lenses 23 C and the corresponding focusing lens 24 C of the light source group 20 C to guide the light emitted by the light source group 20 C out of the laser device for dentistry. The spatial and structural relationships between the light-emitting elements 21 C, the collimating lenses 23 C, the focusing lenses 24 C of the light source group 20 C, and the light guiding pipes 30 C are one-to-one.

With reference to FIG. 16 , a fourth embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention is substantially the same as the second embodiment as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 except for the following features. In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the light source group 20 D has multiple light-emitting elements 21 D, multiple collimating lenses 23 D, a light-gathering cup 26 D, a focusing lens 24 D, and a reflector 22 D. Each one of the light-emitting elements 21 D is disposed in the connecting porting 15 D of the outer casing 11 D, is a laser diode, and the wavelengths of the light-emitting elements 21 D can be the same or different. Each one of the collimating lenses 23 D is disposed in the outer casing 11 D and aligns with one of the light-emitting elements 21 D. The light-gathering cup 26 D is disposed at the connecting portion 15 D of the outer casing 11 D to collect the light emitted by each one of the light-emitting elements 21 D through the corresponding collimating lens 23 D. The focusing lens 24 D is disposed on the outer casing 11 D, and is disposed on a side of the light-gathering cup 26 D away from the collimating lenses 23 D. The reflector 22 D is disposed in the outer casing 11 D between the light-gathering cup 26 D and the focusing lens 24 D and has two mediums with different refractive indices. The light emitted through the light-gathering cup 26 D is totally reflected between the two mediums (Total Internal Reflection), and then emitted through the focusing lens 24 D after the total internal reflection. Preferably, the reflector 22 D has an inner optically denser medium 222 D and an outer optically thinner medium 223 D. The light guiding pipe 30 D is connected to the connecting portion 15 D of the outer casing 11 D and is located outside the reflector 22 D of the light source group 20 D to guide the light emitted by the light source group 20 D out of the laser device for dentistry. The spatial and structural relationships between the light-emitting elements 21 D and the collimating lenses 23 D of the light source group 20 D and the light guiding pipe 30 D are multi-to-one.

With reference to FIG. 16 , when the fourth embodiment of the laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention is in use, the light of each one of the light-emitting elements 21 D of the light source group 20 D emits to the light-gathering cup 26 D via the corresponding collimating lens 23 D and totally reflects between the two mediums 222 D, 223 D of the reflector 22 D, and then is focused by the focusing lens 24 D and exits the light guiding pipe 30 D. If each one of the light-emitting elements 21 D is emitted through the reflector 22 D and the focusing lens 24 D, a light spot S is formed as shown in FIG. 17 and is too small to be overlapped, and the light will not be concentrated and will be scattered. Therefore, the fourth embodiment of the laser device for dentistry of the present invention is configured according to the relationship between the wavelength of light of each light-emitting element 21 D and the refractive index of light of the reflector 22 D, so that the light spots S formed by the light-emitting element 21 D via the focusing lens 24 D can be overlapped without shuffling as shown in FIG. 18 .

With reference to FIGS. 19 and 20 , a fifth embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention is substantially the same as the second embodiment as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 except for the following features. In the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the laser device for dentistry further has a filter cover 50 E. The filter cover 50 E is connected to the light guiding pipe 30 E to filter the light emitted by the laser device for dentistry to avoid affecting the user. The filter cover 50 E can be connected to the light guiding pipe 30 E by means of threads, sockets or tight fitting. The filter cover 50 E has an outer cover portion 51 E and an inner guide portion 52 E. The outer cover portion 51 E is a conical body that gradually expands outward from the light guiding pipe 30 E, and the inner guide portion 52 E is integrally formed or detachably disposed in the outer cover portion 51 E. Furthermore, the inner guide portion 52 E is a light guide channel formed in the outer cover portion 51 E and is tapered outward from the light guiding pipe 30 E. So the light emitted by the light source group 20 E can be guided via the inner guide portion 52 E as shown in FIG. 21 out of the laser device for dentistry, and can be filtered by the outer cover portion 51 E to provide an effect of protecting the eyes of the user.

With reference to FIG. 22 , a sixth embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention is substantially the same as the second embodiment as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 except for the following features. In the fifth embodiment of the present invention, each light-emitting element 21 F is an edge emitting laser diode (EELD) with multiple lights, so that each light-emitting element 21 F can simultaneously emit multiple lights of different or the same wavelength. With reference to FIG. 23 , multiple resonant cavities C are formed on a semiconductor substrate through a semiconductor manufacturing process. After excitation, the resonant cavities C can generate lights of the same wavelength (synchronous) or different wavelengths (asynchronous), so that the lights can have the effect of increasing intensity or additive. For example, each one of the light-emitting elements 21 F has three resonant cavities C, and the three resonant cavities C can respectively generate three primary colors of lights (red, green and blue; RGB) after being excited. After the addition of the three primary colors of lights, the light-emitting element 21 F emits a white light or laser light of other wavelengths.

With reference to FIG. 24 , a seventh embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention is substantially the same as the second embodiment as shown in FIG. 6 and the third embodiment as shown in FIG. 15 except for the following features. In the seventh embodiment of the present invention, the connecting portion 15 G of the outer casing 11 G has a thread structure. The body 10 G has a locking cover 16 G which is hollow and has an opening. The light guiding pipe 30 G has an engaging flange 32 G annularly formed on and protruded from an end thereof that is faced to the body 10 G. The other end of the light guiding pipe 30 G extends through the locking cover 16 G to enable the engaging flange 32 G to abut against an interior of the locking cover 16 G, and the locking cover 16 G is connected to the connecting portion 15 G to connect the light guiding pipe 30 G with the body 10 G. The engagement between the locking cover 16 G and the engaging flange 32 G enables the light guiding pipe 30 G to rotate relative to the body 10 G. Then the end of the light guiding pipe 30 G away from the body 10 G can be rotated to adjust an angle of the light guiding pipe 30 G relative to the body 10 G according to a user's need.

Furthermore, the light source group 20 G has two light-emitting elements 21 G and a pellicle mirror 27 G. The two light-emitting elements 21 G are disposed in the outer casing 11 G at an included angle. Preferably, the two light-emitting elements 21 G are disposed in the outer casing 11 G at an included angle of 90 degrees, each one of the light-emitting elements 21 G is a laser diode, and the wavelengths of the light-emitting elements 21 G can be the same or different. The wavelength of one of the laser diodes is 405 nm and the wavelength of the other one of the laser diodes is 455 nm. The pellicle mirror 27 G is disposed in the outer casing 11 G between the two light-emitting elements 21 G and has a dielectric film reflective layer 271 G. The dielectric film reflective layer 271 G is formed on the pellicle mirror 27 G by coating titanium dioxide (TiO2) or silicon dioxide (SiO2) repeatedly and stacked on the pellicle mirror 27 G. Different coating layers and thicknesses are designed according to the purpose of use (transmission, semi-reflection, semi-transmission or total reflection) to produce specific reflection or penetration effects. The dielectric film reflective layer 271 G is formed on a side of the pellicle mirror 27 G that is faced to the light guiding pipe 30 G. With reference to FIG. 25 , the lights of the two light-emitting elements 21 G are overlapped and emitted toward the light guiding pipe 30 G in a straight line after being refracted and transmitted by the pellicle mirror 27 G, so that the light guiding pipe 30 G emits a single light. Preferably, the dielectric film reflective layer 271 G can be formed on the reflecting mirror 31 G to provide a strong reflection effect. A viewing window 17 G is formed on the outer casing 11 G, using the above-mentioned design of the dielectric film coating, the laser light partially emitted through the viewing window 17 G can be reduced by the dielectric film coating layer, and a user can observe whether the light source group 20 G is activated via the viewing window 17 G.

In addition, in the seventh embodiment of the laser device for dentistry of the present invention, a focusing lens 24 G is disposed between the pellicle mirror 27 G and each one of the two light-emitting elements 21 G to first focus the light of each light-emitting element 21 G by the corresponding focusing lens 24 G, and then directly emit the light to the pellicle mirror 27 G to improve the precision of the laser light. Furthermore, a collimating lens can be disposed between the pellicle mirror 27 G and each one of the two light-emitting elements 21 G, and a focusing lens 24 G is disposed on a path of the light emitted by the pellicle mirror 27 G. With two collimating lenses and one focusing lens 24 G, the precision of the laser light can also be improved. In addition, a focusing lens 24 G′ can be selectively disposed in the light guiding pipe 30 G adjacent to the reflecting mirror 31 G to focus the laser light emitted by the reflecting mirror 31 G. Further, a galvanometer module 29 G is disposed on a front side of the light guiding pipe 30 G to increase a scanning range of the laser light, so the energy of the laser light can be evenly distributed, and can reduced work time due to wide range of use.

When the seventh embodiment of the laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention is in use, two laser diodes with two different wavelengths (405 nm and 450 nm) can be applied to photopolymerization or polymerization of dental polymer materials (photo-polymerizer).

With reference to FIG. 25 , an eighth embodiment of a laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention is substantially the same as the seventh embodiment as shown in FIG. 24 except for the following features. In the eighth embodiment of the present invention, the light guiding pipe 30 G has a fluid tube 33 G disposed on a bottom thereof to output liquid or gas to provide scavenging and cooling effects. In use, the laser diode of one of the two light-emitting elements 21 G is a high-energy therapeutic light (invisible light, the light wavelength is 808 nm-Diode, 810-940 nm-AlGaAs, 1064 nm-InGaAsP, Nd-YAG, 1064 nm fiber laser, 2780 nm Meter-Er:Cr:YsGG and 2940 nm-Er:YGG) of the light source group 20 G, and the laser diode of the other one of the two light-emitting elements 21 G is a low-energy guided light (visible light, such as red light). The viewing window 17 G is disposed on the outer casing 11 G. Using the above-mentioned design of the dielectric film coating, the therapeutic light penetrates the pellicle mirror 27 G strongly and is weakly reflected out of the viewing window 17 G, the guide light (visible light, such as red light) half penetrates the pellicle mirror 27 G and is half reflected out of the viewing window 17 G. Then the invisible treatment light is emitted to the light guiding pipe 30 G after passing through the pellicle mirror 27 G. A part of the visible guided light is reflected by the pellicle mirror 27 G and is overlapped with the invisible treatment light, and the other part of the visible guided light is transmitted through the pellicle mirror 27 G and is emitted to the viewing window 17 G as shown in FIG. 25 . The user can observe whether the light source group 20 G is activated through the viewing window 17 G, and then it can be applied to clean and surface treatment (laser cleaning machine) of gums or artificial roots, so as to provide laser surface treatment for artificial roots, and can cut and cauterize soft and hard tissues in a non-contact way. Additionally, liquid or gas can be delivered through the fluid tube 33 G under the light guiding pipe 30 G for cleaning and cooling operations.

Preferably, with reference to FIG. 26 , in the seventh embodiment and the eighth embodiment of the laser device for dentistry of the present invention, a clamping mount 28 G is disposed in the outer casing 11 G to position the pellicle mirror 27 G, and the clamping mount 28 G is securely disposed in the outer casing 11 G and has a positioning recess 281 G and two guiding channels 282 G. The positioning recess 281 G is formed in a middle of the clamping mount 28 G to hold the pellicle mirror 27 G on the clamping mount 28 G. The clamping mount 28 G may be a rectangular block, and the positioning recess 281 G is concavely formed on a diagonal line of the clamping mount 28 G. Each one of the guiding channels 282 G is formed through two opposite sides of the clamping mount 28 G and communicates with the positioning recess 281 G, and the two guiding channels 282 G are disposed on the clamping mount 28 G at an included angle. The lights of the two light-emitting elements 21 G are respectively and directly emitted toward the pellicle mirror 27 G for refraction and transmission via the two guiding channels 282 G.

With reference to FIG. 27 , when the eighth embodiment of the laser device for dentistry in accordance with the present invention is in use, the light guiding pipe 30 G is moved to an artificial root 90 to be cleaned and the light source group 20 G (with 1064 nm fiber laser) is activated, wherein the light source group 20 G of 1064 nm fiber laser uses optical fiber as the gain medium and light transmission medium of the laser diode, so as to increase the intensity of light to generate the laser light of 1064 nm. The laser light of 1064 nm is suitable for surface processing of metals, and water vapor, heme, and Hydroxyapatite (one of the main components of bone) have low absorption rates for the laser light of 1064 nm. During cleaning and surface treatment of the artificial roots 90 , the laser light will not cause damage to the alveolar bone around the artificial root 90 , and since the water vapor has a low light absorption rate of the laser light of 1064 nm, the water spray and cooling methods will not affect the effectiveness of the laser light, and it can effectively provide the effect of cleaning the artificial root 90 and reconstructing the laser surface treatment layer on the surface of the artificial root 90 . When using a non-contact way on the treatment site, such as gums or artificial roots, it can reduce the loss and cost of materials (optical fibers) due to the use of non-contact irradiation methods, can clean the artificial roots 90 by light source irradiation and perform the laser surface treatment. Then the surface of the artificial roots 90 will not be scratched, so that the cleaned artificial roots 90 can be restored to the original metal surface state, which is conducive to the attachment of new bone, thereby improving stability of the artificial root 90 on the gums. In the process of cleaning the artificial root 90 , water, water vapor or gas can be transported through the fluid tube 33 G to remove impurities or provide a cooling effect.

According to the above-mentioned features and structural relationships of the laser device for dentistry of the present invention, the light source group 20 A, 20 B, 20 C, 20 D, 20 E, 20 G uses the laser diode (LD) as the light emitting element 21 A, 21 B, 21 C, 21 D, 21 F, 21 G, and is used with the reflector 22 B, 22 D, the collimating lenses 23 A, 23 B, 23 C, 23 D, and the focusing lenses 24 B, 24 C, 24 D, 24 G, 24 G′. Then the lights emitted by the light source groups 20 A, 20 B, 20 C, 20 D, 20 E, 20 G have high penetrability, collimation, and coherence, and can be used in jewelry identification (whether there are cracks or other fillers), medical equipment disinfection, nail painting (cured pigments), and other fields. In addition, multiple laser devices for dentistry can be used with a box to form a space for disinfection in the box, and then it can be used in kitchen tableware or disinfection and sterilization of surgical equipment. Furthermore, the body 10 A is portable due to its small size, and can be used by users as hand disinfection, so the laser device for dentistry of the present invention has a wide range of applications.

In dental use, the light of the light source group 20 B can irradiate into the composite resin 80 filled in the tooth 70 . Then photopolymerization is performed on the entire composite resin 80 , the entire composite resin 80 can be photocured, which is relatively convenient in operation, saves time, and can improve the tightness of tooth filling. Furthermore, there are three light-emitting elements 21 B with three different wavelengths disposed on the connecting portion 15 B of the body 10 B, or two light-emitting elements 21 G arranged at an included angle are used with the pellicle mirror 27 G as two single lights with different wavelengths that can be overlapped and arranged in a straight line. Therefore, when composite resins of different chemical materials are used, lights of corresponding wavelengths can be provided through the light-emitting elements 21 B, 21 G of different wavelengths. The composite resin 80 of different chemical materials can be photocured through a single laser device for dentistry, and there is no need to purchase multiple laser devices for dentistry. The cost for use can be reduced, the application range of the laser device for dentistry can be increased, and the composite resin 80 of different chemical materials can be accurately cured by light, effectively avoiding the phenomenon of inability to cure or incomplete curing and relatively improve the treatment quality of filling of tooth 70 .

Furthermore, the light source group 20 A, 20 B, 20 C, 20 D, 20 E, 20 G of the laser device for dentistry of the present invention can generate at least one or more lights with the same (synchronized) or different wavelengths (non-synchronized), so that users can use them according to their needs, and can increase the light intensity or increase the use range of the light by adding the lights. When it is used on the treatment site, such as gums or artificial roots, in a non-contact way, it can reduce the loss and cost of materials, such as optical fibers, due to the use of non-contact irradiation methods, and can use light irradiation to clean artificial teeth. The artificial root 90 is treated with a laser surface, the surface of the artificial root 90 will not be scratched, and the cleaned artificial root 90 can be restored to the original metal surface state, which is conducive to the attachment of new bone, improve the stability of the artificial root 90 on the gum, provide a laser device for dentistry that improves curing effect, increases application range, and is convenient to use.

Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.